This Day in Baseball History
June 21st

Red Sox right-hander Rube Foster tosses a 2-0 no-hitter against the Highlanders. The no-no is the first one ever thrown in Fenway Park, Boston's home since 1912.

1941

Lefty Grove's Fenway consecutive win streak, which started on May 3, 1938, ends at 20 games with a 13-9 loss to the St. Louis Browns. The future Hall of Fame southpaw, facing just 13 batters, allows six runs, yielding 5 hits and walking 3 in 1.2 innings of work.

1941

In New York's 7-2 loss to the Tigers at Yankee Stadium, Phil Rizzuto's seventh-inning round-tripper extends the team's consecutive-game home run streak to 17. The historic homer, which ties the major league record established by Detroit, is only the light-hitting shortstop's second career home run.

1951

Donald L. Barnes, at the request of Browns' owners William and Charles Dewitt, announces the sale of the controlling interest of the club to Bill Veeck, former owner of the Indians. The arrangement of the transaction ensures the new owner will keep the team in St. Louis, debunking the rumors of the franchise being shifted to Milwaukee.

1952

The Harrisburg Senators sign softball shortstop standout Eleanor Engle, but the 24 year-old stenographer will never take the field, when National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues president George Trautman bans the signing of women. Commissioner Ford Frick will go one step further by formally prohibiting females from professional baseball, using the ruling to prevent teams from using women players as a publicity stunt.

1956

Jack Harshman tosses a one-hitter in the White Sox' 1-0 victory over the Orioles. The opposing Baltimore hurlers, Connie Johnson and George Zuverink, also combined to yield only one hit to the Chicago batters in the Comiskey Park contest.

1957

In his first major league start, Von McDaniel‚ who graduated from Oklahoma's Hollis High School last month, two-hits the Dodgers at Busch Stadium‚ 2-0. Brooklyn does not get a hit off the 18 year-old bonus baby until the sixth inning.

1957

Going the distance in the Senators' 6-3 victory over Cleveland, Chuck Stobbs wins his first game since throwing a shutout against Baltimore last September. The 27 year-old right-hander snaps a personal 16-game losing streak, that includes dropping his first 11 decisions this year.

1959

Stan Musial, in the Cardinals' 5-1 victory over the Bucs at Busch Stadium, collects a pair of two-baggers, the first which breaks Honus Wagner’s National League record of 651 career doubles. The southpaw-swinging Stan the Man moves to third on the all-time major league list for two-base hits, trailing only American Leaguers Tris Speaker (793) and Ty Cobb (724). Ed. note: Speaker (one less) and Wagner's (eight less) total have been historically adjusted since Musial’s accomplishment was first reported -LP)

1960

Richie Ashburn plays his first game in Philadelphia since being traded to the Cubs in the offseason. 'Whitey', a fan favorite during his dozen years with the Phillies, strikes out looking to start his 1-for-6 day in an extra inning loss to his former team at Shibe Park.

1964

On an unseasonably warm Father's Day, Phillies' hurler Jim Bunning becomes the first modern pitcher to toss a no-hitter in both leagues when he throws a perfect game to beat the Mets, 6-0. Gus Triandos also becomes the first catcher to handle a no-hitter in both league.

1964

Despite the four errors made by the Phillies, Rick Wise wins the first of his 188 major league victories when Philadelphia beats the Mets at Shea Stadium in the nightcap of a twin bill, 8-2. The 18 year-old rookie right-hander's accomplishment will be overlooked when his effort follows Jim Bunning's perfect game in the opener.

1967

In retaliation for Joe Foy being struck in the helmet in the top of the frame, Red Sox starter Jim Lonborg promptly plunks opposing pitcher Thad Tillotson in the back, igniting a bench-clearing brawl in the second inning of the Yankees' 8-1 loss to Boston at the Stadium. The five-minute melee results in no ejections, but doesn't quite settle the matter when Reggie Smith is brushed back in the third and Dick Howser leaves the game in the fifth after being hit the head with a pitch.

1970

Cesar Gutierrez goes 7-for-7, including six singles and a double, in the Tigers' 9-8 victory over the Twins in 12 innings at Cleveland Stadium. The Detroit shortstop will finish his brief four-year major league career with a .235 lifetime batting average.

1978

On the first pitch in his first at bat, Dave Machemer hits his only major league home run. The rookie second baseman, batting leadoff for the visiting Angels, starts the Halos' eventual 5-2 victory over Minnesota with a long fly over the left field wall at Metropolitan Stadium.

1980

Al Cowens is suspended for seven games by American League president Lee MacPhail, following yesterday's attack on Ed Farmer at Comiskey Park. The Tigers' outfielder, who now also has a warrant issued for his arrest that forces him to skip the remainder of the series in Illinois, seeking revenge for missing 21 games last season after having his jaw and several teeth broken by a pitch thrown by the White Sox pitcher last season when he was with the Royals, charged the mound after batting an infield ground ball and hit the right-hander from behind instead of running to first base.

1986

Bo Jackson signs a three-year contract to play baseball with the Royals. The Heisman Trophy winner will also play in the NFL as a running back with the LA Raiders.

1987

For the second consecutive day, a bench-clearing brawl occurs between the Reds and Braves in Atlanta as the result of a batter being hit by a pitch. The fight is ignited when Tracy Jones, hit by a pitch thrown by Jim Acker, charges the pitcher when the reliever comes within 25 feet of home plate as he is rubbing his arm.

1988

At Tiger Stadium, Detroit scores six times in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat a stunned Yankees team, 7-6. Allen Trammell ends the game in dramatic fashion, hitting a two-out walk-off grand slam off Cecilio Guante.

1989

Carlton Fisk surpasses Yogi Berra as the American League leader for career home runs by a catcher. The White Sox backstop's 307th home run helps to beat the Yankees, 7-3.

1998

Bill Russell is released as Dodger manager and is replaced in the dugout by Glenn Hoffmann. In the front office, Tommy Lasorda assumes the general manager duties of the third-place club from Fred Claire.

1998

Michael Bouton's passionate and elegant open letter to the Yankees is published in the New York Times on Father's Day, asking the franchise to reconsider their long-time snub of his dad, Jim, the team's former 20-game winner and controversial author of Ball Four, a book that angered the baseball establishment for revealing the game's less glamorous side. Thanks to his son's efforts, Jim Bouton's banishment from Yankee Stadium will end next month when the right-hander is invited to return to the Bronx ballpark for the first time in nearly thirty years to participate in the team's Old-Timers' Day.

Blue Jay Tony Fernandez becomes the Dominican-born career hits leader with his 2,178th hit to move ahead of Julio Franco. The shortstop's hit plated the winning run with two outs in the ninth in Toronto's 2-1 victory over Kansas City.

2000

Eric Chavez becomes the 13th A's player in the 100-year history of the franchise to hit for the cycle when he doubles (2nd), singles (4th), and triples (5th) off Mike Mussina, and completes the cycle with a home run (7th) off Jose Mercedes in team's 10-3 win over Baltimore. Oakland's 22 year-old third baseman is the seventh-youngest major leaguer to accomplish the feat.

2001

Returning to the major leagues after a stint with the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League, Jose Canseco starts as the designated hitter for the White Sox. The former All Star, who has 446 career home runs (23rd all time), didn't get any offers after being released by the Angels in the spring.

2002

During the New York-Penn League game between the New Jersey Cardinals and the Staten Island Yankees, a fan hops a fence and goes onto the field to argue an umpire's call at first base. The 38 year-old woman, who will face disorderly person charges, is at the game with her 8 year-old daughter's Brownie troop.

2002

Luis Castillo hits safely in his 35th consecutive game, tying Fred Clarke (1895), Ty Cobb (1917), and George Sisler (1924-25) for the tenth longest streak in major league history. The Marlins' infielder's third inning infield hit off knuckleballer Steve Sparks' glove also surpasses 1987 Benito Santiago's for the longest streak established by a Latin player.

2003

Tied 2-2 after nine innings at Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium, the Red Sox and Phillies exchange runs in the twelfth, and after Boston tallies twice in the thirteenth, the hometown team scores three times in the bottom of the frame to win the inter-league contest, 6-5. BoSox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra goes 6-for-6 for the day, all singles.

2005

General manager Dan O'Brien meets face to face with Reds skipper Dave Miley (125-164) to inform the third-year manager of his decision to fire him. Former Ranger manager Jerry Narron becomes the 58th manager in Reds history.

2005

After building a 10-2 lead at Yankee Stadium, the Rays lose to the Bronx Bombers 20-11, making it the second time in franchise history the team is ahead by eight or more runs and loses by nine or more tallies. No other club in baseball history has ever achieved this dubious distinction, as the D-Rays with their 1999 defeat to the Indians now have accomplished the feat twice.

2005

Giving up 13 runs in the bottom of the second inning, the Devil Rays become the first team in history to yield that many tallies in one inning twice during the same season. The benefactors each time are the Yankees as the visiting Tampa Bay hurlers also had a 13-run melt down in April.

2006

Jose Reyes becomes the ninth player in Mets history to hit for the cycle. The 23 year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic hits a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first inning, followed by a double in the third, then a triple in the fifth, and completes the feat with an eighth inning single in the 5-4 loss to the Reds at Shea Stadium.

2009

Tony La Russa gets his 2,500th victory as a manager when the Cardinals defeat Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium, 12-5. Joining Connie Mack and John McGraw, the Redbird skipper, who also piloted the White Sox and A's, becomes only the third major league manager to reach the milestone.

2015

Melissa Mayeux becomes the first female to be placed on the Major League Baseball's international registration list, making her eligible to be signed by pro teams on July 2. The 16 year-old shortstop of the French U-18 junior national team campaigned successfully to abolish the country's "no-girls-allowed" rule, so she could keep competing with the boys.